|
Dear Friends:
The session has begun! Swearing in occurred on Monday, January 14th. Supreme Court Justice Eric Rosen swore the senators in. Article 2, Section 8 of the Kansas Constitution establishes that the Legislature convenes on the second Monday of January each year.
A special thank you to my husband, mom, aunt and uncle for attending the ceremony. Unfortunately my mother-in-law was unable to join us. It is a very special day and I was thankful to share it with family. Please see the pictures at right.
The Kansas Senate is the upper house of the Kansas Legislature. I serve with 39 other Senators and we each represent an average of 71,328 residents. All members of the Senate serve a four year term. The Senate maintains special functions such as confirming or rejecting gubernatorial appointments to executive departments, the state cabinet, commissions and boards. The current make-up of the Senate is 32 Republicans and 8 Democrats.
Bills are currently being introduced and assigned to the appropriate committee. Senate President Susan Wagle determines which committee each bill is referred to for further action.
|
EDUCATION AND PERSONAL ACTIVITIES
|
On Tuesday the committees started to meet! Bill introductions occurred along with updates on many issues. Please see the committee activities below.
**************************************************
On Tuesday I filmed a Public Service Announcement on Blood Donors. The Kansas Cable Telecommunications Association (KCTA) makes this possible. Thank you to John Federico and Dan Murray for making the arrangements!
*************************************
Did you know that there are 99 Kansas credit unions with a membership of over 626,000?
Did you know that there are 289 banks chartered in Kansas? These banks employ more than 13,400 Kansans and provide financial services in more than 400 towns and cities across the state.
|
|
|
The Senate confirmed the following individuals:
- Lois Cox, Kansas Public Employees Retirement Board of Trustees
- Kevin Mark Smith, State Board of Indigents Defense Services
- Paul Eugene Beck, State Board of Indigents Defense Services
The vote was 39-0 on all three. I VOTED YES.
The Senate also adopted SR 1704. This resolution adopted the Rules of the Senate for the 2013 regular session of the Legislature. IT PASSED 39-0. I VOTED YES.
SCR 1604 was also adopted by the Senate. This concurrent resolution adopts the rules for the Senate and the House of Representatives for the 2013-2014 biennium.
Two amendments were added on the floor during debate. The first amendment made the Senate Tax and Assessment Committee an "exempt" committee. This means that the committee is not subject to the deadlines set by the Legislature. The corresponding House committee has been exempt for many years. I voted for this amendment.
The second amendment is referred to as "Pay-Go" by most people. This amendment places more power over ALL state government spending decision in the hands of the 11 members of the Ways and Means Committee (budget committee) of the Senate. All floor amendments to increase spending must be accompanied by corresponding reductions somewhere in the budget. In essence, six members of the Senate control the state budget. I do not believe this is responsible government. I voted against the amendment.
THE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION WAS PASSED 28-11. I VOTED NO. After passing the Senate, the bill was referred to the House and awaits action there.
|
|
TRANSPORTATION
The Transportation Committee started meeting on Tuesday. This week we had briefings from the following:
- Mike Hoeme, Transportation Director, Kansas Corporation Commission - he spoke of the recent federal law changes affecting the farm motor carrier regulation
- Mike King, Secretary, Kansas Department of Transportation - he spoke about KDOT
Here are some fun facts from Secretary King's presentation about transportation and the Kansas economy:
- 10,000 miles of state highways
- 29.8 billion vehicle miles traveled
- 2 million+ registered vehicles
- Nearly 2 million licensed drivers
- $160 billion+ of goods shipped to, from and within Kansas each year
*******************************************
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS & INSURANCE
This committee had the following speakers deliver information and updates this week:
- Ed Splichal, Commissioner, Office of the State Bank Commissioner
- Shawn Mitchell, Community Bankers Association
- Doug Wareham, Kansas Bankers Association
- John P. Smith, Administrator, Kansas Department of Credit Unions
- Haley Davee, Kansas Credit Union Association
- Aaron Jack, Kansas Securities Commissioner
We also received a report from the Special Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance.
*******************************************
This committee met 4 times this week. Three of the meetings were jointly held with the House Education Committee. We received an update on the Opinion and Entry of Judgment in Gannon v. State by our staff. After that we received briefings on School Finance Basics from the Legislative Research Department. As you are already aware, the topic of school finance is incredibly complex. One handout contained 23 acronyms alone. We received copies of the At-Risk Pupil Assistance Program Guidelines, School District Finance and Quality Performance Act and Bond and Interest State Aid Program, Kansas State Department of Education Assessed Valuation Report, and a large packet containing the chronology of the amendments to the 1992 school finance legislation. WHEW!! I have a lot of homework to do this weekend!
|
|
- Met with Michael L. Wasmer, DVM, DACVIM, Associate Director, State Government Affairs, Autism Speaks
- Attended the training for Senators offered by Carol E. Williams, Executive Director, Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission on campaign ethics and finance
- Attended the training for Senators offered by Chad Taylor, Shawnee County District Attorney, and Matt Patterson, Senior Assistant District Attorney for Shawnee County on Kansas Open Meetings Act (KOMA)
|
|
Click here to see a copy of Senate District 20. |
|
|
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you! Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.
|
|
|
Vicki Schmidt
20th District,
Kansas Senate
vicki@vickischmidt.com
785-296-7374
Paid for by Schmidt for Senate, Brad Koehn, CPA, Treasurer
|
|
|
|
A Note from Vicki
| 
First Week of Session Completed - CHECK!
|
January 14, 2013
|
|
FAMILY
| 
Swearing In Ceremony
|
|
|
